Hectic Holidays
by TwinMindRulesTheWorld
Summary: James is after Lily. What's new? This time he plans to use the holidays to his advantage. But can he really turn hate into love and win his green-eyed redhead over? A trio of oneshots, R&R -smileyface-
1. The Halloweeny Masqueradey Thingymajigg

Disclaimer: We don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters.  
Also, we do not own the lyrics to the songs in this FanFic either; the 'Monster Mash' is by Bobby Pickett and 'It's Only Rock 'n' Roll' is by the Rolling Stones.

A/N: _"Basically, it's a Halloweeny Masqueradey thingy-mah-jiggy". That sorta explains it all. James comes up with a 'fool proof' plan that is sure to get him Lily. That's if it all goes right of course..._

So we came up with this idea to have a sort of series of Oneshots. This one is on Halloween, and we'll also add ones for Christmas and New Years. These will be added later as separate chapters  
This particular one was done by me, Sadia (:  
Also, the very very random part in this, about Sirius dressing up as Mick Jagger, is dedicated to my baby niece Inayah, because for some strange reason I nicknamed her after him. Inspired by the song TiK ToK by Ke$ha. xD  
Oh yeah. And the Snape part is dedicated to my cousin. She'll know what I'm talking about =D

**The Halloweeny Masqueradey Thingy-Mah-Jiggy.**

_Lily's POV._

Why did I even agree to this?

Halloween's in two days and NOTHING is going according to plan.

This is going to be a complete disaster.

You know why? Because of Potter. It's all his fault.

Well, everything is anyway. When in doubt, blame it on Potter. But really, this time is honestly is his fault. Bloody four-eyed thing.

So here it is.

There I was sitting down in the Common Room going over Potions notes for my exam, when Potter approached me.

He came up to me, flailing and practically jumping up and down (may I remind you that he is a seventeen year-old boy, Head Boy to be precise, despite having characteristics of a six year-old girl), trying to get me to listen.

I had to give in to just to get him to calm down.

That's when he started rambling on about some idea he had come up with.

"Potter, shut up! Why are you so...hyped?" I asked.

"I just thought of the best idea ever!" he exclaimed like the excited idiot he is.

"I highly doubt it but go on".

"Basically, it's a Halloweeny Masqueradey thingy-mah-jiggy".

No joke. I mean he actually said those words. Sometimes it's embarrassing to admit he actually likes me.

I gave him a blank look, raising an eyebrow.

"A what now?"

He rolled his eyes and sat down on the edge of a couch. As if _I _was the mental one here.

"It's a Halloween dance where people dress up and all that, only with masks on, like a masquerade".

"Well you could've said that in the first place, moron."

"So...?"

"So what?" I said, shutting my Potions book and looking up at him.

Annoying jerk. Standing there with his messy hair and bent glasses and tall stature and his bloody hazel eyes that you can't help but get lost into...

What. The. Heck. Did. I. Just. Say.  
Well, write.

But yeah. You get the point.

The heat must be doing things to me. Except the fact that its October and freezing.

Anyway, back to what I was writing before...

A masquerade dance? How trashy.

"So, what do you think?" he said.

"I think that you have got to be kidding me. A masquerade?".

"I kid you not Head Girl".

Placing my book on the couch, I stood up. Admittedly, I'm about a foot shorter than that lanky boy, but I didn't want to let him intimidate me.

"This is never going to happen. The planning takes ages, and Halloween's so close".

"May I remind you magic makes anything possible", Potter said, taking a step closer to me so that, unfortunately, he was only about a centimetre away.

Not liking this close proximity, I was about to take a step away before I realised that right behind me was the sofa, so I regrettably could not.

Bloody Potter.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but this masquerade is never going to happen!" I said stubbornly, crossing my arms, so that we were both standing there, very close, with our arms folded.

A then, to my annoyance, he put on this puppy dog look, widening his hazel eyes and pouting.

Awww...to be honest, he looked adorable...  
...not.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the puppy dog expression, but something just made me say "Okay, whatever".

Seriously.

I wish I could take it back.

Because after I had said those words, his face broke into a big grin and he skipped off happily.  
What had I just done?

Ever since he had become Head Boy, which I am still getting over the shock of, he's been kind of...manipulating me or something. Because we never argue any more. Only about little tiny things. It's quite strange actually. Maybe he's matured?

You know, if you forget all the prancing and jumping and acting like a rabbit on happy pills.

Oh Merlin.

What hell have I unleashed?

_James' POV._

Yayayayayay.

Okay. Forget I said that. I'm manly and men do not say 'yay'.

Mission One: Seduce Lily is under way!

And even if she hadn't agreed to the whole Halloween thing, I'm Head Boy.  
I can do pretty much whatever I want. Even if the gorgeous Head Girl says no. I just thought it would be better to let her know, just to get into her good books.

Because after Halloween night, she'll be my Head Girl.

If it works of course. Which it will.

I mean, Moony even said it was one of our more 'reasonable' plans. Meaning it will all go fine. Obviously.

But where's Sirius? He's supposed to be helping me sort everything out.

Oh well. I can do it on my own; it might prove to the Head Girl that I'm perfectly capable and mature enough. Maybe then she'll go out with me?  
If not, my genius plan will make her go out with me.

Really, it's a win win situation.

Anyways. I'm off to tell everyone and invite people.

This is going to be the best!

_Lily's POV._

For want of something better to do, I've lowered myself to writing in this to complain.

About who?  
Potter of course.

I mean, does he really think he can organise a whole school event in just two days? These things need planning you know!

He's so full of himself. It's sickening. He has so much to do, and if he thinks I'm going to help him, well, he has another thing coming.

I'm off to do my homework. At least someone around here knows how to work.

The Next Day.

_James' POV._

You know what, I'm doing quite well. Only a day to go, and the whole school knows about the Masquerade. I got Dumbledore to announce it at dinner, aren't I just a genius?  
Well, you know. Except the fact that Moony came up with the idea. But moving on...

This is pretty tiring though, thank Merlin it's Halloween break, otherwise I would've had to do all this planning on top of all that school work and homework.  
What is it with these teachers and homework?

Moving on, I've got the music sorted and everything. Okay, so I can't get a good wizard band in time, but I've decided to use Moony's Muggle thingy (well, don't expect me to know what these Muggle devices are called, it's confusing!) and play some Muggle music, because Lily's Muggle Born and this is all for her really.

And the decorations, they're so cool!

I can hardly contain myself.

I can't wait till tomorrow.

_Lily's POV._

I have to say, he's done quite a good job of this. I mean, considering.

He took me to see the Great Hall after he had decorated it and to be honest, it's not half bad. But that's only because he's had so much help from Remus and Black.

Oh, speaking of Sirius, have you ever noticed how _strange_ he is?

He was there when Potter was showing me the Great Hall, acting stupid as usual.

"They played the mash, (they played the monster mash). The monster mash. It was a graveyard smash. They played the mash. It caught on in a flash. They played the mash. They played the monster mash", he sang in the queerest voice.

"Why are you singing the 'Monster Mash'?"

"Because it's a graveyard smash!".

I gave him a blank look, as he walked away, humming the tune.

Potter has weird friends.

Which explains a lot.

_James' POV._

The planning has officially finished!

All I have to do is decide what I'm going to wear. I was thinking vampire. Remus is dressing as a wolf-man (no surprises there), Peter is probably going as a pig (though he doesn't really need a costume for that) and Sirius is dressing up as…Mick Jagger.

No, really. Mick Jagger. Who the hell is he?

Speak of the devil, look who's just walked in.

"I know it's only rock and roll but I like it!" Sirius sang.

Well I say sang, but he's tone-deaf so it was more like cats being strangled in a vat of hot oil. Actually, scratch that, it's an insult to cats everywhere.

"What the heck are you singing?"

"Oh, it's a Muggle song, you wouldn't know it".

I hate Moony for introducing him to Muggle rock and roll. Next thing you know, he'll be dancing to the Ladybirds (a/n: the Beatles).

_Lily's POV._

Okay, I've decided what I'm going as. A witch!

How original!

But I'm going as a witch from one of those Muggle movies, like the Wizard of Oz or something like that. With green skin and disgusting hair and everything. I'm going to look _so_ cool.  
We'll see how Potter reacts to that. Ha. That shallow…broom-head.

Though it's probably why I don't have a date to this thing. Even Potter hasn't asked me, can you believe it?  
All my other friends have dates, even Alice, she has Frank Longbottom, so I can't go with all my girlfriends. Am I the only one that doesn't have someone?

But hey, at least it isn't a Valentines thing or anything. It's Halloween, you don't need a date. Do you?

The Day After THAT.

_James' POV._

Can you believe nearly everyone turned up?

This is pretty cool, you know, for something I did last minute. No one else could pull it off, but then again, I_ am_ James Potter.  
I bet Evans is feeling really stupid right now.

The Great Hall looks great. Haha. You see what I did there?

But really, the ceiling which shows the sky outside is dark and creepy, and there is no light except candles which are lit dimly. There are loads of talking pumpkins and the ghosts have even dressed up (somehow). And don't forget there are plenty of Slytherins to look at to really get us in the scary mood.

The only thing to do now is to play Lily's favourite band (judging by the posters on her wall of some guy named 'Paul' and his fellow Ladybirds) and lure her into my arms. Fool proof.

_Lily's POV._

This. Is. BORING.

The highlight of this masquerade so far is that I thought I saw Mick Jagger.  
Only it turned out to be Black wearing a pair of very familiar leggings...I mean Sirius Black, trying to be like the Mick Jagger. I have posters of him on my wall! (Mick, not Sirius).

But anyways.

Can you believe it? I've been sitting here for the past two hours watching couples dance, and nobody has come up and asked me to. Do I really look that bad?

But there is this guy on the other side of the hall who I think has been looking at me. And wow. He's hot.  
Well, as hot as you can get when half of your face is covered. Who cares if I can't see his face? The rest of him is hot.

He's tall and wearing a black shirt and red tie, black trousers and a black cape like a vampire. And every time he smiles (maybe at me?) you can see his sharp point vampire fangs.

I wonder what house he's in? It can't be Gryffindor, I know them and none of them is as hot as this boy.  
He's probably a Ravenclaw I've never met or something.

OH MERLIN.

HOT GUY IS APPROACHING!

_James' POV._

Bored bored bored. That's what I am. Bored.

The plan isn't going well. Lily hasn't even noticed me staring at her. Damn she looks good.  
When I first walked into the hall, the first thing I spotted was her red hair. I could see that red hair anywhere. She's dressed like a witch from those Muggle films, only she looks 100000 times better.

Can you believe I've been staring at her for the past two hours?

It must be love.

But I'm still bored. If only I was there with her.

Padfoot and Moony are off with random girls, Sirius probably doing ungodly things to his and Remus probably having a highly intellectual conversation with a bespectacled beauty.  
And Wormtail? He's probably off with a random boy somewhere. I have noticed him walking by staring at Snape a couple of times. I'm okay with him being gay, but SNAPE of all people! I thought he fancied_ me. _How depressing. Even Peter chooses Snape over me.

Anyway I'm here sitting all alone, when I was the one who thought of this.

...

_-five minutes later-_

...

Right I'm going in. I can't take this boredom any more.

Lily Evans, here I come...

_Lily's POV._

OH DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN.

AND FURTHER DAMNEDNESS!

You'll never guess what happened! Well, obviously. You are a diary therefore do not possess the ability to talk, let alone guess. But moving on...

So the Hot Guy (ew I don't actually want to call him that anymore) came up to me.  
And my heart was speeding up for some strange reason...

"Would you like to dance?" he said in a mysterious and muffled voice that was hard to recognise.

I blushed, looking around for Alice.

"I-er-" I started when Alice came nearby (THANK GOD) dancing with Frank Longbottom.

Ew. Sorry, but please. Frank? But hey, atleast he's not Potter.

But I digress...

Noticing me and Hot Guy, she raised her eyebrows and continued to dance. Fat lot of help she was.

"So...? The dance?" he said, smiling.

Well I think he was smiling.

"Oh. Um. Sure", I replied, flustered.

What was I doing, dancing with a complete stranger? Oh well. I needed a boy in my life. Potter keeps scaring away all the decent ones.

So there I was, slow danci++ng in the Great Hall with his Hot Guy, to my favourite song on Halloween night. Like the perfect ending out of a movie, right?

Wrong.

There was something so familiar about this boy.

The way he held me as we danced.

The way he smelt of vanilla and...parchment?

The way his dark hair was all messed up in the most adorable way.

The way his hazel eyes seemed to change colour as they caught the light, brown, green, gold.

The way the bottom part of his face, which was not concealed with the mask, had a strikingly similar resemblance to Potter.

Oh yes.

I was slow dancing with James Potter.

Could my life get any worse?

"Uhh...Potter?" I breathed, bewildered as to HOW THE HELL THIS HAPPENED!

I stopped the dance abruptly and frowed at him.

Oh my gosh. I thought he was HOT.  
Ew. Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew.

"Busted", mumbled Potter sheepishly, ruffling his hair.

"What are you doing?" I said, freaking out.

COME ON! It was JAMES FREAKING POTTER.

Of course I'm going to freak out. I was dancing with the enemy.  
Oh Lily. You idiot.

"You did say yes when I asked you to dance..." James – I MEAN POTTER – mumbled again.

Frustrated and annoyed, I walked off.

He, unexpectedly (note the sarcasm), ran after me, pushing through the crowds and grabbed onto my arm.

Which, I have to admit, was sweet of him not to let me go.

"Please Evans", he said, almost begging.

I shook my head reluctantly.

Wait. Why reluctantly? I didn't want to dance with Potter. I mean, it's not like I like him or anything.

OH MERLIN

Mental overload.

I do not like him.

I do_ not_ like him.

Obviously.

Clearly.

Simply.

Plainly.

Undoubtedly.

There. I said it.

I DO NOT LIKE HIM!

Never did. Never will.

The thought hadn't even crossed my mind...  
Now where was I?

Oh yeah.

I walked off again, hoping he wouldn't follow me. But surprise surprise, he did.

I saw him behind me when I was reached the grounds outside. I took a deep breath and stared out into the sky, my back towards him.

It was late at night, around eleven, and the sky was a blanket of black satin, dotted with sparkling stars. I could hear the laughter and the music coming from the Great Hall. If I could have it my way, I would back there again, dancing with the Hot Guy.

Only the Hot Guy wouldn't be Potter, but a foreign boy with a sexy accent come to pledge his undying love for me.

Oh. If only.

After a few minutes of silence, me daydreaming about what could've happened, and him just standing there like an idiot, he spoke.

"Please Lily. Just dance with me. As friends? For once".

I shook my head.

"I can't".

"Why not?"

I swivelled around to face him.

His mask was in his hands, and the expression on his face was pretty serious, for him.

"Potter, I don't like you or anything. I danced with you because...because...because I didn't know it was you!"

Admittedly, it was pretty harsh. But the truth hurts.

"Oh", was all he said.

There was an uncomfortable silence before I spoke again.

"I'm sorry but that's the way it is. You know that", I said, smiling ever so slightly, "it's a daily routine".

I expected him to walk off all sad or something, but to my surprise he just smiled mysteriously.

"Ah well. At least I got my dance".

I found my smile widening a bit more. You gotta give the boy some credit.  
How long has he been chasing me for? Oh, just around five years.

"Just go James".

"I'm not giving up you know. Just watch Lily Evans. Just watch".

And with that, he turned and walked away, his hand in his pockets, walking back to the warmth of the Great Hall.

And here I still am, sitting outside, thinking.

Thinking about what?

Grrr.

I don't want to admit it. But it's not like he'll ever find out that...

I'm kinda happy knowing he's never going to give up.

Kinda.

James' POV.

I love life. Really. I really do.

So what if the plan didn't go too well?

I. Danced. With. Lily. Evans!

IT WAS A SLOW DANCE AS WELL!

Mental overload!

And you know what?

She called me JAMES. Although I don't think she quite realised.

Still. Best day of my life.

So far anyway.

Dancing with her was just so...fitting. I felt like I belong with her. I need her.

And okay, I seem like a girl when I talk like this. But I love her. I really do.

And I can see myself with her. I can see me and her together. I just wish it could happen.

ANYWAYS.

Phase two of the plan: haven't decided yet.

But it'll be good.

By the end of this, Lily Evans will fall madly in love with me. Woohoo.

Oh sorry, manly men don't say 'woohoo' either.

Uhh. SCORE!

_Lily's POV._

I decided I had to go back to the masquerade eventually.

It was pretty empty, Alice and Frank had long disappeared somewhere (I don't want to even think of what they're doing).

And then, as if before wasn't enough, this person who looked strangely like Potter, dressed in a vampire costume, asked me to dance.  
So, of course, I told him to go die. I'm not falling for it twice you know.

How stupid does he think I am?

_Snapes POV._

Just when I finally pluck up the courage to ask her to dance, she asks me to die. -sigh-

* * *

A/N Read and review please (:

If you don't get the last part, just watch the Potter Puppet Pals, Snapes Diary.  
And I don't own that either.


	2. Works For Me

_Disclaimer:_ We don't own Harry Potter. Unfortunately.

A/N: This is the next part of the series kinda thing, set at Christmas time, following on from the Halloween fic.  
This particular one was written by the awesome Hafsa =P.  
The New Years one will be up in a few days, maybe on New Years Eve or New Years day, depending on when we have it ready.

**Works For Me**

Light December snow fell on the Hogwarts castle as Christmas was on its way. Due to this year being the last year of the Marauders and all the students in their year, Professor Dumbledore had decided that they should spend their last Christmas in Hogwarts, but those who wish to spend their Christmas with their family may certainly do so. The Marauders were quite predictably going to spend their Christmas within the grounds of Hogwarts.

Everybody was taking advantage of every Hogsmeade trip for Christmas shopping. James on the other hand had done all his shopping in August. Early? Not for James.

He bought '___Hairy Snout, Human Heart'_ for Remus and a month's supply of chocolate frogs. A porn magazine for Sirius. Last but not least a locket, on the front has the initial engraved _'L' _and on the back engraved in small letters _'I Love You.J.' _Every Christmas he would set up the Room of Requirement by his own hands with a million candles and what not, just to show Lily that he would do anything for her, with or without magic. But Lily just did not seem to be impressed by his acts. She would walk away telling him to never do such useless things which won't even impress her? (She actually liked it, but James doesn't know this.)

So this year James thought, just go back to basics for heaven's sake. A normal present, jewellery to be precise. He knew she loved jewellery. This Christmas would be the Christmas that James would give the bracelet to Lily and say 'I Love You' and Lily would love him for the rest of her life, then they would go out and eventually get married – Sirius being the best man of course.

He could just imagine it.

After Christmas everything will be perfect.  
After Christmas they will be together.

But, when there's a Marauder involved nothing goes according to plan now, does it?

James was now sitting in his dirty, dormitory shared with his fellow Marauders, looking out the window thinking about his new, perfect life with Lily after Christmas when ..

"Oi Prongs. Did you know that me and you are the hottest guys in Hogwarts?" Sirius, puffing his chest out, said proudly.

"No, Padfoot." Remus explained "You are the - _apparently_ - hottest guys in our _year. _Not school."

"Thanks for bursting my bubble mate, just because you're not hot." Sirius said in a childish manner, deflating his chest.

"Well, actually, if you must know I am the cleverest male being in our year." Remus said defensively.

"If you and Prongs are the hottest, and you're the cleverest in our year... then what am I?" Peter said, looking on the verge of tears.

"Well Wormy, you are the ONLY one who can transfigure themselves into a rat in our year." Sirius said rather flatly.

"Oh, that's right! I never thought of that!" Peter said breaking into a wide grin.

"Clearly." Muttered Remus.

Jame,s turning his head to the Marauders, said, "If you three wankers have quite finished... what was your point exactly Pads?"

"Well..." Sirius said, whilst scratching his head, he then clicked his fingers as if a light bulb had just popped into his head "my point was...that there is such a difference between me and you, isn't there? We are the hottest guys in our school..." Remus raised his eyebrow "fine ... year, yet I snog all the girls available"

"No that's not true. You shagged Ashley, when she was going out with Mark. So that's not exactly available is it?" Peter pointed out. Sirius scowled at Peter and huffed.

"If you want to e_ver _shag someone Wormtail, then i suggest you keep your trap shut."

To this Peter ran out of the dorm, screaming...

"Back to what i was saying... I play the field and you, well you just mope over Evans, cry your eyes out, which she never sees and never move on." Sirius explained his comparison.

_Oh no! Not again. _Thought James.

"Look Pads. I have told you. I LOVE Lily and this Christmas will be _the _Christmas that she will realise her love for me and we will live happily ever after." James explained to the brain dead boy.

"Look Prongs, I don't want to be so frank but I have to. Look she never has loved you, so what do you think that she will start to love you as soon as you tell her 'I Love You' which may I add you have said all your hogwarts life." Sirius said

_Thanks mate. _James thought sarcastically.

"Look Padfoot. Leave Prongs alone. He loves Lily and if he is saying that this Christmas will be _the _Christmas well then... it might be. OK? Now stop pestering him and finish your homework for Merlin's sake!" Remus said in his strictest tone.

"Do i have to...? MOTHER!" moaned Sirius.

Remus gave the Marauder glare and scowled at him. Sirius knew he was defeated and went back to his homework... James turned away and carried on imagining his perfect life after Christmas.

"So I'm thinking about putting the magical mistletoe we put up last year. Whoever comes underneath the mistletoe will have to kiss the person they are close to, whether they like it or not. Otherwise it won't go away. Ha! It's a classic." Sirius told the Marauders.

"No. We got in so much trouble last year. And with me being prefect and Prongs being Head Boy, it's not the very safe or ideal plan," Remus said in a wary tone.

"But, that - or a matter of fact anything - has never stopped them two by doing any prank now has it?" Peter pointed out.

"The point exactly, Moony my friend." James said whilst patting Remus on the back.

"Ok! Fine, fine! I have no idea why I give into your idea. Why do I always give in to you lot!" Remus said reluctantly...

"Perfect, and now that we have Moony's permission we should start putting up the mistletoe up, because tomorrow is the big day. Eh, Prongs?" Sirius said whilst winking at James.

"Yeah, I know. I'm so excited, she's going to love me man!" James said jumping up and down in a Sirius like manner.

"Look Prongs," Sirius said in a serious tone...

_Whoa, never knew serious was in Padfoot's book..._ James thought.

"You don't know whether or not she'll LOVE you. I don't want you to get your hopes and then get let down by Evans leaving you with a broken heart, and her not knowing what she does to you, just like she always does."

"Wow that was really deep of you." Remus and Peter said in unison, then giving each other a slightly amused look.

"Thanks Padfoot." James said, going up to hug him. "I know. But if I never try I'll never know, I've only got one shot. Don't worry though, if she breaks my heart, I'll try not to commit suicide like all the other times. And I'll recover, with my best friends next to me, just like all the other times." He said smiling into Sirius's back.

Feeling touched by what his best, unusually shallow friend had just said.

Today was the day everyone, especially James was waiting for.

Christmas day or 'The Perfect Christmas' as the Marauders had named it.

It was really busy in the Great Hall. Everyone giving and receiving presents. Random people kissing at different places in the castle due to the Marauders prank.

Even professor McGonagall and Dumbledore had to kiss each other in front of everyone, because of the magical mistletoe appearing above their heads.  
Everyone was shocked.  
Snape gagged.  
Professor McGonagall blushed furiously with embarrassment and Dumbledore?  
Well...he seemed quite pleased with himself.  
McGonagall knew very well who must behind this prank. She came stomping to where the Marauders were sitting and said "A whole month's detention for all of you! And 10 points from Gryffindor. EACH!" then she gave them a final glare and stomped off.  
After the punishment was given out Sirius said "That was so worth it."

They all agreed, they all hi-5'd each other. Remus was slightly pink in the cheeks as to what he had just seen, but he thought as well.

_That was soo worth it. _Thought Remus. Then chuckled slightly.

The whole school was lively with music, people cheering and having parties in every tower. But Lily was in her pyjamas, with a book in her hand, in the Head's common room. It was the only place for peace and quiet. She had told everyone that the Heads tower will be off bounds and whoever enters will get 50 points taken off their house. To this they nodded obediently knowing not to mess with the Head girl with the temper that was as hot as the colour of her hair. Everywhere, meaning everywhere else, there was either a party or people kissing in corners, halls, some who were pleased and some reluctantly, just so that the mistletoe will stop bothering them.

There was something in her mind that was bothering her. James Potter did not say one word to her. Not one!

That was like a record for him. Sure she was happy that he wasn't hounding her like a werewolf, but she felt ...sad if that is the right word? That maybe he had gone off her. She didn't know, but whatever it was that she was feeling she didn't like it.

Lily was lost in thought when the portrait door opened and appeared just the person who she was thinking about (or not wanting to think about).

"Ello, Evans!" she looked up from the fire, where she was staring into startled to see the hazel eyed Head Boy standing in front of her. Smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh. Hi, Ja...I mean potter." She said looked away embarrassed, for almost calling Potter, by his real name. (That sounds really weird)

_What .Did. I. Just. Say? Well about to say anyway. Why did it almost slip from my tongue? Stupid Potter with his stupid hazel eyes making me forget everything. What is it with you Lily? Get a hold of yourself. You can't let your reputation slip out of your hands by getting lost in someone's eyes,_ thought Lily.

"Look Potter. If you're going to ask me out then I suggest you don't. I just want some peace and quiet which is why i am sitting here. And I do not want you to say something over and over again like a broken tape recorder, when you know for a fact that the answer will ALWAYS be NO!" Lily said, out bursting all her frustration on the child in front of her.

_Woo. Lily. you've got your groove back!_ She thought.

James who was standing there, shocked at Lily's random outburst just stood there for what seemed liked hours. In an awkward silence. Breaking the ice said,

"No. I'm not going to ask you out." Lily looked up slightly taken aback.

_Did he just say that he isn't going to ask me out? _Thought Lily.

"I just want to have a decent Christmas with the person I lo- I mean like. And um, seriously no pranks, no jokes. Just sitting and um... Well talking. It's a pretty good offer if you ask me." He said with a sheepish grin. Lily, who was still in shock, managed to say,

"Good, offer. Yeah. Sit at the end of the sofa and no funny business." She said firmly.

"Bloody hell. There's always a catch with you isn't there Evans?" he said with a small smile, but was happy enough to be spending Christmas with her.

On the same couch! He sat down at the end of the sofa and saw Lily smiling at him. A small smile.

_Yes. Yes. She's smiling. Her eyes are glinting. She loves me. Yes! Ok, James, get a grip. Just smile back. Give her one of those dazzling smiles that all the girls die for... _he smiled back...goofily. _Stupid. Idiot. Twat. So much for the dazzling smile you poof. _He thought to himself.

"Soooo, how's your Christmas been so far?" Lily asked.

"It's been okay. So far so good. Did you see the presents I got for the Marauders?"

"Yeah, I did." She said awkwardly "I bet Sirius was really happy when you showed him the...porn magazine...And by the way... how come you didn't give anything to Peter?"

James gasped "Oh. My. God! I cannot believe I forgot Wormtail. No wonder he looked so upset when I gave the others their presents. Erm... I can give him the present Padfoot gave to me to him. He really wanted it anyway. Erm... yeah I know he was well happy when he got that. Ha!" he said sort of embarrassed. "Anyways... how was your Christmas?"

"Just like every other Christmas. Presents, cards, books, quills, chocolate dot dot dot."

James coughed and asked sheepishly, "You didn't by any chance get any jewellery?"

"No. There was one locket I saw... never mind. It gets quite annoying once in a while thought. Everyone thinks that just because I'm a bookworm and a geek and really responsible they think I need books and other stuff. But not the things that I actually desire. And when I mean books, I _mean _books. Not that I mind. They never ask what I want I never tell. I just thought that this Christmas would change, I guess not."

_Wait, did I just tell the things that were on my mind to Potter? The same Potter I have hated since forever. The same Potter who is a Marauder. The same Potter that's, that's... POTTER? _Thought Lily.

James gave a half-hearted laugh. "Well, Evans. You know, you can never be too sure."

Lily asked slightly suspicious "Now. What do you mean by that Potter?"

"I mean this." Said James pulling out a velvet rectangular box out of his back pocket and handed it over to Lily. "Merry Christmas, Evans. I think you'll like it." He said smiling.

Lily taking the box into her hands and just by looking at the box she could tell that this gift was very expensive. Carefully opening it, there she saw the beautiful locket that she had seen in Hogsmede, with the letter 'L' engraved in it, by the hand of an expert. Tears welled up in her eyes, she jumped up to cross the couch and hug James. For a brief moment she forgot who she was hugging, but then realising did she pull away, quite abruptly as she just thought over to what she had done.

Then, stammering, she said, "Erm...sorry...thanks...best present...love it...thanks."

James laughed and said "Hey, don't sweat it. It's cool. I knew you'd like it, so yeah, i bought it for you."

Then he smiled, that dazzling infamous Potter smile, that girls would die for.

Lily blushed slightly, she just realised something and said "Hey, I didn't buy you anything for Christmas, 'cos well... we're not the best of friends and that...sorry."

James frowned at this then smiled, "Look, I didn't give you this present to get a present back from you, yeah. I gave it because I wanted to and well, spending Christmas with you is more than enough." Then winked at her.

Lily didn't know what to say, but distracting her was when magical mistletoe suddenly appeared over both of their heads, then boy did she know what to say.

"What the crap is all this Potter! You said no pranks! You said no funny business. Was all this present business just so that you could distract me and get mistletoe over our heads so that I could kiss you? How dare you have the guts to stoop so bloody low you bloody wanker?"

James, absolutely shocked by the mistletoe and Lily's outburst, said, "Hey, hey, hey! I am innocent. I didn't do any of this stuff, I have no idea how the mistletoe got up there, and besides, I don't have my wand with me, and my hands were here, if they moved you would've saw me. And trust me, I would never stoop this low to kiss you, if I could stoop this low I would've done this ages ago, righy? I know that me and the Marauders..."

Then James started to think. _Wormtail. No, he's a wuss. Moony, no too scared. Padfoot, yeah he would do this. Padfoot...PADFOOT! Grrr! I AM GOING TO KILL HIM! Ruined all my chances._

"Look Evans. I said i didn't, it was Padfoot. I promise. Believe me. Please...PLEASE!" he said with pleading eyes, putting on a puppy dog face.

"How dare you put on a puppy dog face on?" James's face returned to its normal shape. "Why don't you just take the mistletoe off then I'll forget about it ok? That is all I'm asking. Now hurry up. What are you waiting for?" Lily said red in the face, out of anger.

James with a worried face and stammering, "I'm...erm...I can't its magical. It...It only goes away when the two people under it erm... well snog?"

"WHAT? I am not under any bloody circumstances kissing you Potter! Watch when i get my hands on Sirius..." interrupted by James... "No, your hands are meant to be on me Evans not Padfoot." He saw the angry look on Lily and decided to shut up.

_30 minutes later..._

"I think you should just kiss me, Evans. 'Cos, I'm not going until you do and well... We _can't _go until you do. You do know that? Just get it over and done with!"

Lily didn't say anything. She just thought about it.

_Hmm. He looks like a good kisser, to be honest. Oh my God! Just look at those gorgeous pouty lips! If I tell him that I would consider kissing him..._

"I want to kiss you" Lily blurted out then immediately regretting it.

"Let me get this straight. _You, _want to kiss _me. _The person you've hated like all your life?" James said in an amused tone.

"No! I meant. I'm going to have to kiss you, if I want to go to sleep, so I'm going to have to kiss you." She said quickly.

"Hmm, if the kiss goes well, then can I go sleep with you?" raising one eyebrow and asked daringly.

"Look, if you even get a kiss from me then you're lucky. So, erm...hurry up and get up I want to go to sleep." Lily said in an irritated voice.

"Um...Yeah" James said awkwardly.

They both leaned in to kiss each other, James's hot, wet mouth pressed against Lily's in an urgency she never felt before. Lily felt herself go weak in James's strong, muscled arms and as he caught her, supporting her weight as he held her face with his warm, soft hands. Lily's eyes closed; she let herself go right along with it, swept away from Earth by his warmth and comfort. The tip of James's nose was cold as it brushed against Lily's. He tasted of fresh mint. His dark, tussled hair tickled her forehead as he stopped for breath and he gently brushed his lips against hers, showering them with short tender kisses that made all of her insides spark and pop with excitement and teenage hormones. Lily's hands were around James's neck and she pulled him closer to close any distance that was left between them, which wasn't much.

A 'POP' occurred from above their heads.

They both pulled apart not wanting to break the kiss to see what was this pop when they both looked up to see that the mistletoe had gone.

Lily flushed with embarrassment and pulled away from James, releasing her hands from his neck.

James ran his hands through his floppy hair and said "Erm...got a bit carried away there. Sorry."

At hearing this Lily wanted to say _'Why are you sorry? That kiss was the best kiss ever.'  
_But instead said "Yes. We both got carried away a little bit." Blushing again, she said "I think you have your Christmas present from me James. Hope you liked it." Before rushing and running up the stairs to get to her dorm.

James ruffled his hair again, fixed his askew glasses and then sheepishly said to himself...

"Works for me, Evans!"

* * *

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that (:

Please review if you loved it, hated it, whatever. There's always room for improvement.

Merry Christmas FanFiction lovers.


	3. Third Time Lucky

Disclaimer: We don't own Harry Potter –sadface-

A/N: This is the final instalment to the newly named 'Hectic Holidays' fic. I've just realised I write 'bloody' a lot in stories o_O. Meh.  
There's not much else to say except we wish you a very happy New Year (:  
This was written by both of us ^^  
Oh, and thanks to our teacher and ze wonderful 9H for the...erm...inspiration ;]

**Third Time Lucky**

It had been six days since Christmas. However, the Marauders and Lily completely disregarded the fact that it had been Christmas, and thought what actually happened on that day was far more significant; they saw it as The Day James Potter Kissed Lily Evans…Finally. So, more importantly to them, it had been six days since The Day James Potter Kissed Lily Evans…Finally. You would've thought, wouldn't you, that by now they would be a happy couple?

Well. No. Far from it.

In actual fact, James was avoiding Lily, scared she would have some kind of bad delayed reaction to the kiss and he would end up the victim of assault, and Lily was avoiding James simply because she wanted him to make the first move.

But without doubt the most important thing was that Sirius Black was bored.

He and the rest of the Marauders were sitting in their dorm on New Years Eve, uncharacteristically quiet. It was around noon, and not being morning people, they had only just woken up. Remus sat on his bed, silently reading the book that James had given him for Christmas. James was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, staring into space, whilst Peter was on his bed, munching on chocolate frogs. Sirius, on the other hand, was sitting upside down on a chair, his shaggy hair almost touching the carpet, and his legs sticking up in the air.

"I'm bored", he moaned.

There was no reply.

"I'm bored", he repeated.

Again, there was no reply.

"I'm bored", he said for the third time.

Yet again, no one listened to him.

"I'M BORED!" he shouted, turning to sit the right way up.

Remus sighed and shut his book.

"Must you always interrupt me whenever I'm into a good book?" he said.

"I'm bored", Sirius replied simply.

"Well then, do something. Entertain yourself. Read a book".

With that, Remus opened his book again and began to read where he left off.

Sirius burst into hysterical laughter, giving Remus a very weird look at his comment. James remained zoned out, and Peter continued to much on his sweets.

"Moony, please. Who do you think I am? Merlin? Sirius Black does NOT read".

"Illiterate…" Remus mumbled, not looking up from his book.

Sirius, not knowing what Remus' remark meant, jumped to his feet and stood in the empty space in front of the beds.

"Let's do something!" he said, poking each boy in the head.

"Eugh, get that finger away from me. Merlin only knows where it's been. You've only just woken up! How can you be so hyper at this hour of the morning?" asked Remus, edging away from Sirius.

"It's called caffeine, Oh Great Lickanthrope".

Remus looked up, with an amused look on his face at his friend's idiocy.

"Uh. Lickanthrope?"

"Yeah, that's what you are. A lickanthrope. Otherwise known as werewolf? Duh, Moony, what happened to your brain overnight?"

"It's lycanthrope, Sirius, lycanthrope", chuckled Remus.

"Oh", said Sirius with a blank look on his face.

Remus continued to mock Sirius' foolishness, laughing quietly.

"Shut up Moony", Sirius said, putting up his middle finger at Remus. "Where was I? Oh right. I'm BORED".

All of a sudden, James snapped back to reality.

"Oh, he's finally come back to Earth", Remus said dryly.

James looked around, until he realised Remus was talking about him.

"She hates me", he declared, before making a dramatic sigh.

Sirius looked at him and raised an eyebrow at his randomness.

"Oh no. Are we going to have a long talk about you and Lily…again?" he spoke in a bored voice, sitting down on his bed.

"Yes. Yes we are", replied James. "Because she HATES me".

"I'm sure she doesn't James, stop overreacting", said Remus reassuringly.

"Yeah Prongsie, shut up".

Remus and James both began having a conversation about James and Lily, ignoring Sirius completely.

"Fine then", mumbled Sirius, and turned to Peter, who remained silent.

Peter glanced up at him nervously, not knowing what to say. He looked at his bag full of sweets, then up at Sirius, then at his sweets again.

"Sweet?" he offered.

"No thanks Pete. But I'll tell you what I do want. To be entertained. Today is the most boring day ever".

"It is still only morning", said Peter tiredly, yawning.

Sirius groaned. Why where his friends so uninteresting today?  
Christmas day was fun, and not just for James. Peter had been attacked under the mistletoe by a ginormous Slytherin, after he had nervously explained to him that in order to get out from under it, they would need to kiss. They spent almost the whole day under the mistletoe, a great crowd surrounding them, chanting, "Kiss. Kiss. Kiss". And, you guessed it; they finally kissed, much to their immense disgust and Sirius' amusement. He would never let Peter forget it.  
And Boxing day, that was also enjoyable, when the Marauders snuck out to Hogsmeade in the dead of night to get drunk. They staggered back to Hogwarts helplessly inebriated, smelling of Firewhiskey, all expect Remus who had only drunk a little bit, and had to practically carry the other three back home.  
Even the days after that was fun, the Marauders all played holiday pranks and (tried) to ice skate on the Lake, which had frozen over completely.

But today? Sirius was not amused.

"Right", he said, getting to his feet. "We are going to go out and do something. Because I am bored out of my bloody mind".

None of the other Marauders moved from their positions, frustrating Sirius even more. They acted as if no one had spoken. Sirius groaned, unable to handle the boredom.

Really, he thought, the root of this boredom was James. If he weren't so depressed about Lily avoiding him, things would be a lot more fun.

He walked up to each of his friends and dragged them all – which was quite a feat – by the collar. The three tried to get away, but Sirius grabbed them again.

"Get off me, you lunatic", muttered James, as he, Remus and Peter were being pushed powerlessly out of the dormitory.

"I'm sorting out your bloody love life, so be grateful", replied Sirius. He grabbed the Marauders Map, checked it, and made his way to the Lake.

The other three followed him reluctantly, only trailing after him because he was bound to get into trouble without them.

"Why have you brought us here, Sirius?" asked Remus, shivering.

Sirius said nothing, but pointed to the distance. In the direction he was pointing was Lily, standing on the frozen lake with Alice, both trying to ice skate but failing miserably.

"You", Sirius said, jabbing James in the chest, "are going to go up to her, and talk to her. There must be a reason why she's been avoiding you. Sort things out, and come back when you're less boring".

"But she's going to attack me, I just know it!" James said dramatically.

Sirius said nothing and gave him an odd look, pushing him towards where Lily was.

James sighed, giving up quickly. He made his way to Lily, extremely nervous and apprehensive.

"She's so gonna kill me", he muttered to himself under his breath.

When he reached Lily, he just stood there and smiled at her sheepishly, not knowing what to say after six days of not talking. Lily's face looked expressionless as he approached, and Alice left to give the two some private time.

James and Lily stood on the icy ground for what seemed like ten years, staring at the ground, unspeaking although there was much to talk about.

Unable to take any more silence, James spoke.

"Uh. Happy New Year for tomorrow", he said, awkwardly.

Lily looked up from the ground, and scowled.

"Happy New Year? HAPPY NEW YEAR? You've been avoiding me for six days, and all you can say is HAPPY NEW BLOODY YEAR? You must be flipping joking Potter!", she snapped, not caring who was staring at them.

All the anger that had been built up inside her the past few days was ready to explode.

"I – erm – well you didn't exactly talk to me either", replied James defensively, but with not much force as he was slightly scared of Lily when she was angry.

Lily was livid.

_What kind of boy kisses someone like that and doesn't speak to them afterwards? Oh right, James bloody Potter, _thought Lily angrily.

"Why did you feel the need to SHUN me?" she demanded.

"_Shun_? I did not SHUN you! I just, erm, didn't actually get the chance to talk to you…"

"What do you mean you didn't get the chance? I'm in your HOUSE. We're Head Boy and Head Girl together!"

"Yeah, well, you never liked me talking to you before, did you?" said James triumphantly, trying not to say the wrong things at the wrong time.

At this, Lily made a face, her anger slowly wavering. He did have a point.

"But", she said, thinking of something on the spot, "That was before you kissed me. The kiss changed everything".

She folded her arms, not knowing what else to do, a poignant expression on her face. James, on the other hand, frowned. This may have been the girl he was helplessly in love with, but boy was she confusing. Was she implying that the kiss changed her feelings towards him? Or that it merely changed the situation in which they were in?

"Look", said James softly, seeing Lily's expression. "I'm sorry I avoided you."

He moved forward, careful not to slip on the ice.

"As if sorry would change anything", said Lily hastily.

She tried to take a step backwards, to move away from James, and slipped backwards on the ice. But before she could fall all the way down, James caught her by the wrist and pulled her close to him.

"Thanks", she mumbled, trying to not take notice of their extremely close proximity.

She looked down at the clear ground, not wanting to look at James, particularly not his eyes.

"Am I forgiven?" James said quietly, Lily still in his arms.

"I don't know!" she groaned in frustration, not knowing what to do.

Truthfully, the fact that James avoided her wasn't that big of a deal. The thing was that James Potter_ kissed_ her_. James Potter_ had kissed her, and she did not know how to react to it, especially as she liked it. And after that, every single time she saw him, even out of the corner of her eye, she secretly hoped he would approach her, and she felt this weird feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She didn't know what it was, except that her feelings towards him had _definitely_ changed. Her anger had probably risen from the disappointment and confusion she felt.

There was more silence, as James didn't reply to what Lily had said.

Instead, for some weird, weird reason, he felt the need to lean down to kiss her. This was not the most wisest thing to do, kissing a confused and annoyed redhead, but James being James, did it anyways.

And regretted it soon after.

"You idiot! I'm mad at you, and you have the bloody cheek to KISS me?" Lily shouted, before pushing James away so he almost slipped.

With that, she walked off fuming, leaving James standing there, confused as ever.

Across the Lake, the rest of the Marauders had seen it all.

"He _so_ needs girl tips from me", smirked Sirius, shaking his head pitifully.

Much to Sirius' disappointment, so far the rest of the day wasn't nearly as interesting as he hoped it would've been.

Instead, for want of something better to do, the Marauders spent most of their day sitting in their dorm, talking or playing wizard games. James was still in a bad mood since the Lily incident, and the rest of the boys were careful around him, not wanting to set him off.

There was a New Years Eve party at 9pm, and the Marauders, especially Sirius, were eager to attend, just to relieve their boredom. Just a few minutes before nine, the boys threw on some different clothes and hurried out of their dormitory, a room which they had had enough of.

The common room downstairs was all decorated, and the atmosphere was bubbly as loads of people were already there, their speech drowning out the music.

Sirius grinned in delight; there was lots of drink here, Butterbeer, Firewhiskey, Gillywater, the lot. He ran off to the table with the drinks, leaving James, Remus and Peter standing at the bottom of the stairs which led to the dormitories, looking around. If Sirius was about to get drunk, then they were headed for a long night.

Later that evening, all the Gryffindors were still huddled up in the Gryffindor Common Room. It was only 11:00pm and, you guessed it, Sirius was already drunk, swaying around and gurgling as he went.

Lily was standing in a corner eyeing up everyone, wondering as to how easily most people could get drunk so quickly. She was standing alone when James approached her gracefully with an unsure smile on his face.

"Hey. Enjoying the party?"

"I was, then you popped out of nowhere.", she said not meeting his eye.

"Err, well you didn't look like you were enjoying yourself. Who enjoys themselves when their standing alone looking at a room full well, nearly full of drunk people…?" he trailed off. Seeing Lily's expression he quickly said, "You, of course", and feebly chuckled to himself.

"What do you want Potter?" asked Lily, her green eyes icy cold.

"Well, I'm sorry for before. You know what happened outside, it wasn't meant to be like that. Honest", James said with his eyes full of sorrow.

Lily looked at him carefully. The remorse in his voice was clear; she could tell he was truly sorry. But still, he had said sorry to her countless times before. What was the difference this time?

_My feelings_, she thought to herself. _My feelings are different this time. Merlin, I'm such a pushover._

Taking a deep breath, she spoke.

"James, I'm sorry too. I guess I let my anger get the better of me", she said, smiling slightly.

James grinned happily; things were going well for once! Plus, she had said sorry to him. Lily Evans never said sorry to him. For anything.

_This must be good sign_, he thought.

They both stood there like lampposts idly, not saying anything to each other in an awkward silence. Lily was biting her lip, avoiding James' eyes and blushing red. James' eyes were wide as he looked around the room, not sure what to do next.

"We do a lot of these awkward silences", he pointed out.

"Yeah, we do don't we.", replied Lily embarrassedly, smiling slightly.

And then they fell back into the uncomfortable silence, still not speaking, just standing there, quite close to each other.

Finally, after what felt like a billion light years , James broke the ice.

"Erm. Well. To avoid this awkwardness we experience so much, and this is just a suggestion…"

"Spit it out".

James looked up from the floor, taking in Lily's amused expression, and could not help but noticing how pretty she looked.

"If I kiss you now, will you promise not to push me away like before?"

Lily smiled shyly, biting her lip again. Preparing herself for the consequences of what she was about to say, she spoke.

"Well, that depends. If I kiss you, then would you promise not to avoid me?" she said coyly, her eyes expectant.

James' eyes lit up, and he smiled a roguish smile as he leaned into kiss Lily.

"Course", he drawled in a whisper.

His lips were millimetres away from Lily's, when an undoubtedly drunk Sirius interrupted the moment.

"Oooh, Prongsiee pooooo, are you and red-head alright noooow? I wasn't disturbing anything, was I?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at James suggestively and fell to the floor abruptly.  
Remus, witnessing what had just happened, ran from where he was standing, picked a limp Sirius from the floor and looked at James apologetically.

"Sorry James, I should've looked after him."

Then turned to Lily before leaving and said, "Hope your having a nice time Lily."

_She was, before Padfoot came along_, James thought sulkily

James and Lily looked at each other, highly embarrassed, trying not to think about what they would be doing if Sirius had not interrupted.

Back to the awkward silence, though Lily.

Unable to face yet another uncomfortable silence, the two sighed.

"Excuse me." They both stammered at the same time before heading into different directions, James going to murder Sirius and Lily going to try and find another peaceful corner in the Common Room.

It was just before midnight and everyone was preparing for the countdown. There was one minute to go. James had slipped in between the space between Lily and Remus, both of who were looking up at the clock, along with Sirius, Alice, Frank, Peter, and the rest of Gryffindor.

"Uh, Lily?" he said, dragging her by the arm to a corner of the common room.

People surrounding them were loud, their voices echoing in the countdown.

"TEN!"

"So, erm…", said Lily, desperately trying to avoid another awkward silence.

James looked down at Lily, who seemed to be rolling her eyes and looking anywhere but at him. Her cheeks were a shade of red as her eyes met his.

"NINE!"

Should he make a move? It was a tradition to kiss someone at New Years, and yet they both remained silent in comparison to the cheering crowd behind them.

"EIGHT!"

"I'm gonna be frank here. I like you Lily. A lot. But you know that. I just…wanted you to know…"

"SEVEN!"

"Know what?" Lily said, bashfully.

"SIX!"

"How you feel. Really. Did that kiss change anything?"

"FIVE!"

Lily bit her lip again, not sure what to say.

"FOUR!"

"Lily?" said James softly.

"THREE!"

"I, erm, think I might…like you?" she replied hesitantly, trying to hide her cheeks which were blushing scarlet.

All James could do was smile down at her, suppressing his excitement at what Lily had just said.

_LILY EVANS LIKES ME, _he thought. _MENTAL OVERLOAD!_

"TWO!"

The corner of the common room remained silent, both anticipating what would happen next.

"ONE!"

At the very moment the room was full of kissing couples – friends, boyfriends and girlfriends all wishing each other a happy New Year. All except James and Lily. Even Peter was snogging some random girls face off.

"I, er, better go." said Lily timidly in a slightly disappointed voice, as she turned to walk off.

But at the last minute, James' instinct sprung alive, as he held onto Lily's arm as she was about to leave, and he pulled her close to him.

Looking directly into her emerald eyes, he said, "Happy New Year", before laying the softest of kisses on her lips.

At first her she widened her eyes in a surprised manner as she had not been expecting this, but after a while she could not help but pull his head closer so that she could deepen the kiss.

_Not again,_ she thought, as she found herself lost in the embrace.

As much as it pained her to even think it, she had to admit, James was a good kisser. She didn't even object when his lips parted hers slightly and his hands perched comfortably on her waist, her hands raking through his hair.

Their fellow Gryffindor housemates had broken apart by then and turned to look at James and Lily.

Hearing the wolf whistles and catcalls Lily reluctantly pulled away, blushing furiously and silently cursing herself for letting the kiss get too far yet again.

Acknowledging everyone looking at them, James smiled sheepishly and ruffled his hair nervously.

He made a gesture as to shoo the crowd away and waited until the crowd had died down, until there was only he and Lily left standing in the corner of the common room.

"Now will you go out with me?" James asked Lily, smiling that same roguish smile.

"Whatever", she mumbled before pulling his head down again to kiss him.

"I'll take that as a yes then", James tried to say in between kisses but found his words were incoherent as Lily shut him up with hungry kisses.

_Finally. Third time lucky! _he thought unbelievably to himself.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, and the people who reviewed. We do like reviews. Hope you enjoyed it!


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